Team Rowley forge ahead in netball league with hat trick of wins

Team Rowley won three matches in division one of the netball leagues over the past fortnight to move ahead in the table, with Kinetics also picking up a victory. Unst were victorious in the second division while Hotfooters and Mishaps could not be separated.

Division One
(Sponsored by SLNA)

Kinetics 48, Challengers 27

Kinetics got off to an explosive start and pulled ahead 5-0 in the first five minutes with good mid-court play from Louise Fraser, Cheryl Simpson and Fiona Shearer, all passing accurately up the court.

Challengers welcomed Vaila Kay back and she made her mark immediately. Linking well with Lynsey Pearson they began to find their form. Kinetics were quietly relaxed at this stage, and they eased ahead to finish the first quarter 15-5 in their favour.

In the second quarter both teams played with short, sharp passes and this was the highest scoring quarter of the match with 25 goals. Sarah Grogan and Kirsti Leask took no time to focus and were ably supported around their circle by Fraser and Shearer. Likewise for Challengers, Catherine Williamson and Marie Eunson were starting to have an influence. At half-time the score stood at 29-16 to Kinetics.

Kinetics kept up the pressure with Emma Gray and Andrea Tait working hard to block out the experience of Kay, to prevent further scoring opportunities. This tactic paid off as Challengers were only able to score four goals during the third period. Kinetics ended the quarter 40-20 ahead.

The pace of the game in the final stage slowed down a notch. Kinetics brought in Lesley Spence to replace Shearer at centre and her experience shone through as she fed instructions through to all areas of the court. Leask was handling some fine rebounds, and along with Grogan in support, they were able to net their rebounds. As the whistle blew for full-time the score was 48-27 to Kinetics.

Best for Kinetics was Kirsti Leask while Catherine Williamson outshone her Challengers team mates.

Kinetics 35, Team Rowley 45

Kinetics welcomed the return of Kristen Jeromson at GD but Team Rowley looked confident from the outset, having fielded consistently throughout the season.

TR got off to a flying start, creating a 3-0 gap immediately. Kinetics, despite taking longer to settle, fought back and managed to draw level as Sarah Grogan and Chloe Millar found their form.

Long balls into attack from TR’s Karen MacKay and Morag Fox were finding the infamous shooting duo of Lisa Morrison and Marie Clark. They were quickly converted into goals, many from long range by Morrison, and the first quarter finished 13-8 in TR’s favour.

After the break Kinetics appeared the more settled and focused. Lesley Spence and Fiona Shearer were marking their opponents closely off their defensive circle, forcing TR to play the ball around the circle. Many rebounds were stolen by Jeromson and Emma Gray, which Kinetics managed to work back up the court and convert. However, the half closed with TR still having the edge at 23-17.

With victory not quite out of reach, Kinetics re-entered the court upbeat and ready for action, while TR wanted to finish off the job. Spence replaced Shearer at centre and Ingrid Nicol was introduced at WD. A period of frantic end-to-end play saw TR rattle home a further five goals.

Undeterred, Kinetics settled into their new formation and clawed back some of the deficit. Grogan and Millar were shooting well, and were ably supported by Spence and Louise Fraser.

However, Fiona Dally and Maisie Unsworth began making life incredibly difficult for the Kinetics shooters, and soon began to claim rebounds. Young Karen Bannister came into action and made many timely interceptions for TR. Along with MacKay, they fed their shooters well, and the quarter finished 36-27 to TR.

For the final period Shearer was re-introduced, Fraser moved to centre and Cheryl Simpson to WD. TR introduced Anne Wood at WD to replace Fox with Bannister moving to WA.

As both teams started to tire, there were a lot of long balls “punted” up the court to their respective shooting partnerships. Kinetics fought hard but as the clock ran down the score stood 45-35 for TR.

Best were shooters Lisa Morrison for TR, who has had an outstanding season, and young Chloe Millar for Kinetics, who has proved that she is more than able to hold her own in the big league.

Challengers 23, Team Rowley 56

Team Rowley immediately pulled ahead with shooters Marie Clark and Lisa Morrison never missing a shot. At half-time they were leading by 31-11.

Challengers tried to make a few changes with Vaila Kay at GD and Louise Johnson moving to GA. This change did not alter the score, however, as Team Rowley still had the upperhand with good passing and good defence.

Loungers v Challengers

The game was postponed.

AHS v Challengers

The game was postponed.

Team Rowley 32, Loungers 24

Both teams had won all of their matches on the run-up to this clash and were keen to secure the win and remain undefeated.

Both teams started nervously, making quite a few unforced errors, and TR seemed to settle first. Brenda Leask returned from injury and her partnership with Maise Unsworth in defence made frequent interceptions along with Karen Bannister at WD. That allowed Team Rowley to race to a 10-3 lead at the end of the quarter.

Loungers were more composed in the second quarter with the mid-court of Hazel Uren and Vicki Henderson working the ball up to the shooting duo of Stella Oldbury and Claire Young who were shooting well. But Lisa Morrison in the TR circle was netting impressive long range shots and they managed to further extend their lead to 19-10 at half time.

The third quarter was Loungers’ best. Vicki Henderson moved to defence and along with Louise Moar made vital tips and interceptions, making feeding the TR shooters a difficult task. Loungers managed to restrict the lead to 24-17 at the end of the third quarter.

Rowley were keen to hold on to their lead and Loungers worked hard to close the gap and even snatch victory. The Rowley defence of Leask and Unsworth were still making valuable interceptions which Morrison was converting in the Rowley circle.

It was a close quarter but Rowley managed to come out on top, with an eight-goal gap in their favour.

Players of the match were Maise Unsworth for Team Rowley and Louise Moar for Loungers.

Division Two
(Ocean Kinetics)

Hotfooters 35, Mishaps 35

It was a very even first half with both teams taking time to settle. Hotfooters were very nippy about the court but often lost possession due to careless mistakes. Mishaps took a more steady approach and played a slower game. Laura Cheyne, along with Rosanne Georgeson, combined well in defence to help their team to a 15-13 lead at half-time.

The third quarter saw Mishaps really begin to link their passes up court and the use of the lob into shooter Leanne Tait was particularly effective. Hotfooters’ nerves began to show but they battled well to stay in contention at 24-22 going into the last period.

A great finish saw Mishaps pull away to lead by four goals only for Hotfooters to claw their way back and take the lead by one goal with 30 seconds remaining. Mishaps’ Leanne Tait netted the last goal to draw level in the dying seconds.

Players of the match were Lauren Odie for Hotfooters and Gayle Henry for Mishaps.

Hotfooters v Wastside

The game was postponed.

Mishaps v Supernova

Mishaps could not field a team so the points were awarded to Supernova.

Unst 29, Supernova 20

Unst were the team to settle first and quickly took the lead with five unanswered goals. Karis Burns and Anna Macaulay linked up well in the centre court for Unst, helping to bring the ball quickly up the court and into the shooting circle. Unst ended the first quarter 10-3 ahead.

Supernova came out for the second quarter determined to narrow the score and began to take control. This pressure led to a lot of scrappy play from Unst and Supernova made the most of it, pouncing on every loose pass. Emma Rose at GD for Supernova began to find her form, picking up any rebounds and these turnovers were easily converted by the Liz Haining and Marianne Williamson.

The third quarter was quiet with both teams finding it hard to get the ball up the court and into their shooting circle. Unst’s defensive players stepped up a gear with Julie Munro and Linda Thomson making some key interceptions to keep the Supernova shooting opportunities to a minimum. The score going into the final quarter was 22-15 to Unst.

The game continued to be played at a fast pace right through to the final whistle with neither team willing to give the other an easy time. Every loose pass and rebound was being contested for but Unst managed to inch out a win.

Players of the match were Emma Rose for Supernova and Julie Munro and Linda Thomson for Unst.

Division Three
(Evelyn Rae)

Team Tingwall 49, Scallywags 30

Tingwall started the stronger with good play from the defence through to the shooters. Paula Sinclair made some good interceptions which resulted in Tingwall converting Scallywags’ centres into Tingwall goals.

Nicola Smith and Joy Duncan were making it difficult for Tingwall’s shooters but with good supporting play from Wilma Polson and Sinclair and a combination of slick passing and fast movement in the centre third, the goals were being scored. Scallywags fought hard with Gwen Malcolmson and Cindy Pottinger working tirelessly in the centre court but the score at the end of the first quarter was 11-4.

The second quarter was much more evenly matched. Scallywags started to get into the game although the duo of Jennifer Wadley and Alexis Jamieson made it difficult for Scallywags to break down play.

Some good shooting from Pottinger and Anne Marie Robinson resulted in a run of goals which boosted their team and made Tingwall work harder. Both teams played some entertaining netball and Tingwall shooters Zoey Symington and Karla Stewart netted nearly every shot they took.

Sinclair moved to GS and was missing nothing. Scallywags were determined to get back into the game but despite great defending by Smith, Tingwall were unstoppable. The third quarter ended 37-13.

The last quarter saw Tingwall edge further into the lead. Few mistakes were made and they gained a well-deserved win.

Da Hooligans 15, Ness 38

The game started with quick play from Da Hooligans who managed to secure the first few goals. However, Ness fought back and took the lead by the end of the quarter at 8-6.

In the second quarter Ness expanded the lead and although some good interceptions were made on Da Hooligans’ part, the quarter ended 19-10 in Ness’ favour.

With determination the Hooligans picked up their game with accurate shooting from their shooters. However, Ness maintained their strong lead at 29-17.

The game ended 38-15 deservedly to Ness with their continuously good shooting. However, Da Hooligans never gave up and Abbey Irvine was their player of the match. Best for Ness was Michaela Peterson.

Scalloway Juniors v Da McEwans

Scalloway Juniors could not field a team so the points were awarded to Da McEwans.

Da Hooligans 34, Scallywags 31

An action-packed game started with fast passing from both teams. Controlled play and good linking from Holly Jamieson and Karis Irvine gave Da Hooligans their initial lead, despite strong defending from Nicola Smith and Naomi Johnson. The first quarter ended 10-4 to Da Hooligans.

The second quarter startedd with both teams fighting for every ball. Precision shooting from Lara Kay and Valerie Sales pushed Da Hooligans further ahead while Gwen Malcomson’s accurate passes aided the Scallywags. The second quarter ended 20-10 to Da Hooligans.

The third quarter started with Scallywags finding a new lease of life. Strong shooting from Ann-Marie Robinson and Cindy Pottinger helped them gain on Da Hooligans despite Abbey Irvine’s best efforts. Tension was running high at the end of the third quarter with Scallywags working hard to close the gap to 27-21.

In the final quarter Scallywags got a number of goals in succession but Da Hooligans defenders Tammi Anderson and Nicola Polson fought fiercely to help them to victory.

Players of the match were Nicola Smith for Scallywags and Karis Irvine and Holly Jamieson for Da Hooligans.

Scalloway Juniors 22, Team Tingwall 32

No match report was received.

Ness 26, McEwans 35

The first quarter was evenly contested by both teams with McEwans’ Diane Irvine defending well and Ness getting into good spaces, especially Clare Farmer, which allowed good passes into the circle. At the end of the quarter the scores were even at 9-9.

Ness made some changes during the break, bringing on Michaela Peterson at GD, and she defended very well and made some great interceptions playing her first match in this position. This quarter was again very even with the score ending 16-16.

In the third quarter Ness seemed to settle first which gave them a four-point lead with accurate shooting from Elizabeth Williamson. Da McEwans then came back with great passes into the circle from Deborah Mowat and Eileen Robertson and their shooters rarely missed a shot to lead 23-21.

In the final quarter the McEwans brought on Joanne Stewart who never missed a shot. This seemed to unsettle Ness and led to the McEwans winning.

Players of the match were Clare Farmer for Ness and Diane Irvine for McEwans.